The present invention is directed toward a tape cartridge storage unit and more particularly, toward a storage unit wherein the amount of storage slots within the unit may be increased or decreased and the unit is capable of accommodating various types of cartridges.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,600,107; 4,688,682; 4,782,958; and 4,971,199 to Price et al. teach the general concept of a tape cartridge storage rack into which various storage units may be placed. Each storage unit has shelves with dividers into which the cartridges are placed. These storage units, however, are not compatible with a wide variety of racks and the storage area within each unit cannot be increased or decreased, depending upon the size of the cartridges being stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,446 to Glomski discloses a sound recording storage cabinet for housing audio tapes, video tapes, and compact discs. The cabinet includes a box with interior walls slotted to receive horizontal shelves for holding audio tapes, video tapes, etc. The shelves have ribs which are spaced apart from each other, thereby forming slots into which the various media are placed. The ends of the shelves have flanges which fit into slits located on the side walls of the box. However, this storage cabinet is constructed to be installed in a residential wall and would not be suitable in other types of environments, for example, in an office where storage and wall space are often limited. Furthermore, these cabinets cannot be used in existing storage racks.
The present invention is designed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage unit for storing tape cartridges which is easily insertable and removable from a storage rack.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a storage unit which is compatible with a wide variety of storage racks and cartridges.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a storage unit in which the amount of storage slots may be increased or decreased, depending upon the size of the cartridges being stored.
In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a storage unit for holding a wide variety of tape cartridges which includes a box-like frame structure comprised of a back wall, a right side wall, a left side wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall. The frame structure can house a plurality of separate shelves or dividers with a series of ribs located on one or both sides of each divider. The ribs are spaced apart from each other and form slots into which the cartridges are placed. The back edge of each divider has a tab which fits into a slot located in the back wall of the box-like outer frame. The front edge of the right and left side walls has a series of grooves into which the dividers fit. Combinations of different dividers may be placed within the unit. Also, the dividers may be placed within any of the grooves so that the dividers are spaced apart from each other as necessary. The entire unit may then be placed within a rack.